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The History of the NORAD/Microsoft and Google Santa Trackers
theodp writes: Marketing Land's Danny Sullivan has a pretty epic post on How Google Became A Santa Tracker Tradition To Rival NORAD, and wonders if future generations will think of Santa tracking as synonymous with Google, just as past ones have felt about NORAD. Until it split with Google in 2012 (for unknown reasons) and hooked up with Microsoft, Sullivan explains, NORAD had really been the only place to go for a serious, dependable Santa tracking service. "There's a big part of me that wishes Google had gotten out of Santa tracking when it split from NORAD," says Sullivan of the divorce. "The NORAD Santa tracker brings back memories from my childhood; it brings back memories of me being a father with young kids checking in on Santa's progress. In contrast, Google feels to me like an upstart interloper messing with my nostalgic memories. But maybe Google's a welcome alternative to others. It's not uncommon to see the occasional complaint about a NORAD "Santa Cam" video showing Santa being accompanied by fighter jets. Some might prefer a Santa tracker that's not connected to a military organization. Of course, some might not feel one connected to a giant company is necessarily preferable. Part of me is also sad that when I go to NORAD's own site, I get a big Internet Explorer icon in the top right corner, which effectively opens up an ad for Microsoft. I guess I feel it's too blatant. Of course, complaining about the commercialization of something Christmas-related, I suppose, is kind of useless." Sullivan adds, "Overall, I'm thankful to the many people who are involved with both operations [NORAD Tracks Santa and Google Santa Tracker], who work hard to make children smile on Christmas Eve.""
We need to have more accurate methods. I suggest a social media app that leverages the best of Google earth and then uses observations to track where Santa is. The updates could then be used to predict speed and direction in order to predict where Santa will appear next. Now for a catchy name. I propose Santa's Annual Tracking Announcement Network or SATAN for short. I will get the Kickstarter rolling.
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
When I started reading TFS and found myself dazed and bewildered - words swimming in a blur before my eyes - I was sure that this must be one of Bennett's wonderful epics. But no! Theodp wants to usurp Bennett. Treason!
http://www.acetonestudio.com
My oh my whatever shall we do
Seriously?
The updates could then be used to predict speed and direction in order to predict where Santa will appear next.
I thought that Santa is just a quantum wave function, and it is impossible to determine both quantities simultaneously to any sort of precision. It would explain how he manages to deliver so many presents without turning into an incandescent meteor in the sky.
Go look up whose colours "Santa" sports. Go on, look it up. Another large American company, yes.
In the pre-internet age, I was in the military and stationed at Elmendorf AFB. I worked at the ROCC which consolidated the radar air picture to monitor US air space. We had a Christmas “simulation” tape we could play to create Santa and his sleigh on the radar scopes for the benefit of the media.
The local TV stations would have reports on Santa’s progress throughout the evening and would show our radar screens on the news. I’m sure each regional center had their own tapes for the benefit of their local news.
NORAD (which we were a part of) had a much more elaborate system, but in the end it was all based on the ability to make training simulations for radar operators.
Regardless who Norad partners with, I will use them. Why you ask? That's easy, they have the radar. I am pretty sure Google is just making stuff up as I don't think they have the radar facilities that the US and Canada have. So when I want to reliably track that red suited bastard, I'll ask the guys who actually know.
This year I got some new Starstreaks to replace my FIM-92j's, I'm pretty sure I'll shoot him down this time.
Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
NORAD A military organization designed to blast communist out of the skies.
Google A for profit organisation that makes its money off of selling adds and offers a bunch of free services in return to having those adds in front of you.
So you are against capitalism however you are supporting the organization that is designed to track and kill people who are against capitalism (just as long as they are flying)
In general NORAD tracking of Santa is a gimmick to help bring up good will towards the organization. Because this started happening during the hottest part of the Cold War and the military was considered the keeper of all the newest and coolest technology. After the cold war companies tend to have the cooler technology. Transitioning to Google is a natural thing.
When your kids grow up and they will find that tracking Santa will be done with some other technology and organization they will feel like they are missing something because they will have nostalgia that doesn't match yours.
BTW Santa for generations is the symbol for consumerism. The reason why kids like him because he is the one that gives them toys. When I was a kid I didn't care about family time or any of the other true meanings of Christmas, I was all about ID and Ego (No Super Ego) and it was all about me getting cool stuff, and a little about seeing what other stuff people got.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
When the guy is decked out in coca cola trademark colours.
Put him back in green
Lately I've been wondering why we lie to our children, why the "real life" magic of science and Nature isn't told to them instead, in fact I feel that telling them lies and fairytales from an early age softens their brains up for religion/propaganda later.
Though I can't prove that, the idea interest me, so anyone have a rational reason (encouraging imagination will not be accepted) to tell their children lies like Santa Claus and the rest of the standard fairytales?
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
I believe this has more to do with NORAD using AGI (Analytical Graphics, Inc.) products, which in turn use Bing for mapping. Google products aren't all that great for dynamic simulations where as the AGI ones were designed for this from the start:
It looks like they are making use of AGI's Cesium (no web plugin required):
It looks like a neat project although I haven't tried to interface it yet. I'm hoping the open source nature of it keeps it from disappearing the way the Google Earth plugin is going to do.
The NSA Snowden tracker, watching Edward Snowden as he travels around the world, bringing transparency to all the good and bad little boys and girls and agencies across the Internet. Merry Christmas, Edward!
Back in the eighties and nineties, the only organization who could even feasibly track Santa was the military, because they had the radar and private companies like Google did not own their own satellites taking pictures of the whole globe 24 hours a day. Nowadays, the idea that Google would do just as good a job of monitoring Santa as NORAD, is not far fetched.
Some might prefer a Santa tracker that's not connected to a military organization. Of course, some might not feel one connected to a giant company is necessarily preferable.
Maybe Santa will offer an app
XKCD:Xeric Knowledge Comically Dispen
A friend's kid was watching the tracker. His network glitched and for a minute he got the [X] icon instead of the sleigh image. He started crying that Santa got blown up.
in the sixties AT&T used to maintain a central communications hub with redphones in the event of orders for a nuclear launch. the phones would all ring, operators would then pick up the phones and wait for the base or military installation they were told and route the call accordingly. The number was mistakenly dialed once by a talk radio show in chicago looking to prank call a celebrity. the jocks were pretty shocked when all 15 redphone stations responded waiting for connection orders from the president.
Good people go to bed earlier.
The Santa putting out presents is actually Black Santa, who you can tell apart from the real santa by 'Ho Ho Ho' being replaced by 'Hack Hack Hack', the White Santa only making public appearances at select white children's houses and occasionally at affirmative action required black houses to pretend he's not really racist while keeping Black Santa down the chimneys doing the real man's work. You can also tell black santa by his thin build, required to actually get down the chimney and unlock the front door so White Santa's lardy ass can make an appearance.
I'd heard in the 70s there was also a Pimp Santa, who was like Black Santa, only without the hacking cough, but an incessantly congested nose. You could only tell him apart by his Purple Santa suit and his gleeful shouts of 'Hos Hos Hos.' Sadly I've heard he was busted in the 80s and is doing a life stint upstate for interstate commerce in large quantities of 'snow', which for some reason is a felony...
Not really the same thing and only one is appropriate for tracking a flying object. Although you would be amazed what those satellites can track when the data is processed.
Pretty sure Google still doesn't have satellites, they buy their images from DigitalGlobe like everyone else.
Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
Santa isn't real.
How do you track something that does not exist?
To a 4 year old its the same thing.
Back in the eighties and nineties, the only organization who could even feasibly track Santa was the military, because they had the radar and private companies like Google did not own their own satellites taking pictures of the whole globe 24 hours a day. Nowadays, the idea that Google would do just as good a job of monitoring Santa as NORAD, is not far fetched.
TIL; some people really believe Google have real-time satellite imagery covering the earth, wow..
Today Google is a household word and a name associated with bleeding-edge technology.
There was a time, however, when NORAD was second perhaps only to NASA as the brand most associated with advanced technology, at least among names that would be familiar to children.
Search Engine Land: Our guide to getting the most of out NORAD Tracks Santa and Google Santa Tracker
Saw this tweet: "Glad Google's tracking Santa now to faux-compete w/NORAD's tracker. Finally a "choice" bt govt or private omnisurveillence propaganda." https://twitter.com/emptywheel...
I know, write? Who gives a flying flip about an app to track a jolly magical man with an eating disorder.
Now, if someone would make an app to track the Yule Cat, Grýla, and her progeny, then that I would have interest in!
I am a proud traitor to my species in alliance with my mother the Earth in opposition to those who would destroy her.
Neither the Bing nor the Google Santa trackers work. Both are badly overproduced and overdone and totally boring and lame. Improved to the point where they're useless. And where's the sound and narration? Yahoo could have done better.
Don't these guys have kids? Go back to the cutesy cartoons and pix for the 6 year olds.
If this showcases the talents of MS and G, sell their stock now.
NORAD and Google report different path and different count of gifts distributed. Does that means there are more than one Santa Claus? That would explain how he manages to cover the world within one night.
The NORAD site doesn't even load. It just keeps spinning that candy cane progress bar.
When I try again, I get a blank blue page with an Internet Explorer sticker in the corner.
Javascript console tells me that sdk.js had an error. Something about "Invalid App ID."
Google's Santa Tracker loads just fine.
You can just forget NORAD and Google tracking - just let Santa report his location on SantaClaus.com
Eliminate the middle man. Plus you don't have the government involved. Nor do you have a large company. Just Santa and the Elves. (And the person behind SantaClaus.com really is just ONE person).
http://santaclaus.com/santa-tr...
We always used the NORAD site in the past. However this year, it no longer loads up and has an Internet Explorer icon in the upper left corner. It appears that the site is incompatible with standards browsers like Firefox and Chrome. Oh well, I guess we will use the Google tracker instead, which is compatible and works fine in ALL browsers. Sad that they would shut out people from using the site.